442 THE RING-DOVE. 



specimens, but owing to their extremely shy disposition he did not obtain any. It exhibits a 

 malted contiast to others we have noticed, in this particular. This one species comprises the 

 entire genus. It is curiously like the quails in external appearance, and in some of its habits. 

 It has a blue bill, with the fleshy parts at the base, carmine. The scales of the feet are car- 

 mine in color. Its length is about eleven inches. 



The Stock-Dove derives its name from its habit of building its nest in the stocks or 

 stumps of trees. It is one of the European Pigeons, and is tolerably common in many parts of 

 the other hemisphere. 



It is seldom found far northward, and even when it does visit such localities, it is only as 

 a summer resident, making its nest in warmer districts. As has ah'eady been mentioned, the 

 nest of this species is made in the stocks or stumps of trees, the birds finding out some conven- 

 ient hoUow, and placing their eggs within. Other localities are, however, selected for the 

 purpose of incubation, among which a deserted rabbit-burrow is among the most common. 

 The nest is hardly worthy of the name, being a mere collection of dry fibrous roots, laid about 

 three or four feet within the entrance, just thick enough to keep the eggs from the ground, 

 but not sufiiciently woven to constitute a true nest. In some places v/hen the keepers discover 

 a brood they make a network of sticks at the mouth of the hole, so that the young cannot 

 escape, although they can be fed by the parents from without, and when they are sufficiently 

 large and plump they are taken for the table. 



Now and then the Stock-Dove takes up its residence under thick furze-bushes, especially 

 those which have grown close to the ground, and into which little openings have been made by 

 the rabbits. The voice of the Stock-Dove is rather curious, being a hollow rumbling or grunt- 

 ing kind of note, quite unlike the well-known cooing of the Ring-Dove. 



The head, neck, and back and wing-coverts are bluish-gray, the primary quill-feathers of 

 the wing taking a deeper hue, the secondaries being pearl-gray deepening at the tips, and the 

 tertials being blue-gi'ay with two or three spots. The chin is blue-gray, the sides of the neck 

 slaty-gray glossed with green, and the breast purplish-red. The specific name of "cenas," or 

 wine-colored, is given to the bird on account of the peculiar hue of the throat. The whole of 

 the under surface is gray, and the tail-feathers are colored with gray of several tones, the out- 

 side feathers having the basal portion of the outer web white. The beak is deep orange, the 

 eyes scarlet, and the legs and toes red. The total length is about fourteen inches, the female 

 being a little smaller. 



The bird which now comes before our notice is familiar to all residents in the country 

 under the titles of Ring-Dove, Wood-Pigeon, Wood-Guest, and Cushat. 



This pretty Dove is one of the commonest of the European birds, breeding in almost 

 every little copse or tuft of trees, and inhabiting the forest grounds in great abundance. 

 Towards and during the breeding season, its soft complacent cooing — coo-goo-roo-o-o-o ! coo 

 goo-roo-o-o-o — is heard in every direction, and with a very slight search its nest may be found. 

 It is a strange nest, and hardly deserving that name, being nothing more than a mere platform 

 of sticks resting upon the fork of a bough, and placed so loosely across each other, that when 

 the maternal bird is away, the light may sometimes be seen through the interstices of the nest, 

 and the outline of the eggs made out. Generally the Ring-Dove chooses a rather lofty branch 

 for its resting-place, but it occasionally builds at a very low elevation. I have found the nest 

 of this bird in a hedge only a few feet from the ground, so low, indeed, that I could look down 

 upon the eggs while standing by the hedge, and more like the work of the turtle-dove than of 

 the Ring-Dove. 



Tiie eggs are never more than two in number, and perfectly white, looking something like 

 hen' s eggs on a small scale, save that the ends are more equally rounded. The young are 

 plentifully fed from the crops of their parents, and soon become very fat. Just before they 

 are able to fly they are held in great estimation for tlie table, and in some places ingenious 

 boys are in the habit of going round to the Ring-Dove' s nest while the young are still in their 

 infantile plumage, tying a piece of string to their legs, passing it through the interstices of the 



